(E)Motions
by aya-kun.zeroaddicted
Summary: More than in a fight. More than just motion. She saw everything. OR the one where Cass actually sees more than motion when she sees people. Jason Todd Birthday Week: Day 5 - Team-up


For the anon on Tumblr who asked for something with Jay and Cass...I have no effing idea what I just wrote tho. It's more like a long drabble on an idea that came to me as I tried to think about Cass and Jason. I tried my best to think of something and then I thought about how fandom always exaggerates Cass' body language reading...so this happened...not totally satisfied...Jay actually says nothing...all in Cass' POV.

Still, I hope anon and you all, will like it.

Also on AO3 and a late entry for Jaybird's Birthday Week, Day 5: Team-up...though I use that theme vaguely here...

* * *

When Bruce found her. She saw a man who could fight. A man who could stay still as well as move fast. A man who struggled with words even as she watched him lie so easily. Watched him hurt himself with every word of protection. Saw the black of sadness and grief, the red of anger and blue of hope. She only wished he would stop covering them in the clear blankness of white.

When Barbara named her. She saw emotion so bright. Whether her mentor was angry, happy or sad. She radiated life. Even with her lack of motion, Cass was in awe of all the movements that she could do. Her delicate fingers dancing over words and letters she could only wish to know half so well. Her determination was vibrant -her red laced with blue, unlike Bruce's mix. Her yellow joy was radiant.

And when she met the rest of the family, she was certain that she would see more. _Learn_ more. And maybe then, she would be able to return every emotion she was gifted with. Even without words.

* * *

Then she saw her brother.

* * *

Jason had hurt her family. And she couldn't understand the why of it. Until she learned that Jason had hurt _their_ family. Learned who was behind the mask of red anger.

Cass first only heard of the Red Hood targeting her family, killing people in Gotham. She returned to see her father cold as stone. Her older brother rigid with anger. Her younger brother nothing but in shock. Alfred, for the first time, was cold.

It angered her that she'd been away when this happened. Angered and confused her when she encountered Shiva later on and heard her cold, amused words.

The assassin was only ever honest when she wanted to hurt. Rare was it that she was honest just because.

Cass wasn't sure which one it was when Shiva taunted her with Jason back then. A discarded child. Not worth anything before then as he'd been nothing but a mistake in the first place. But now, he was Lady Talia's little pet. Second hand though because he'd been the Batman's first. Or maybe it was better to call him a stray since the league would want nothing to do with a failure now.

The shock made her freeze and Shiva scoffed as she finished the fight -annoyance on her face. "He's not worth your time." Already Shiva regretted saying anything about Jason at all. Cass saw her silver disappointment as she left and sought another fight.

* * *

Cass observed more after that. She asked more questions, remembered past words.

She concentrated more and actively sought out emotion from her family instead of waiting for it. But she did wait, as the family did, for the Red Hood to return. For Jason to come home.

Even though she saw Bruce despair in the lessening hope of Jason ever coming back with each passing day, Cass waited.

* * *

When she finally saw him. She learned two things.

Jason was motion of two kinds. The stillness of madness (though thankfully little now) and the restlessness of anger (here she despaired to see so much as it was laced with sadness so black, it hurt just to see him).

That her brother was left to handle this alone angered her.

She could not understand why the family could not see it. Could not feel it. They didn't need her sight to see!

Jason was crying. With every motion. Every sharp word. Every passing day she found him crying without tears. Without hope.

Her brother was glass.

But he was _her_ glass now. Like the robin sculpture she'd seen once at the mall with Steph. But what could've been clear and beautiful with colors of light was nothing but burnt glass and so very fragile.

So every day she pestered him. She didn't care when he ran. Didn't mind when he threw insults. Only became serious when he fought her but she made sure he left okay.

She ignored her family's warnings. Grew angry when they interfered. Said nothing of their shared blood. Grew weary of their anger. Consoled their grandfather when she told him all that she knew and saw.

"He's ours, Alfred," she'd said.

"He's ours," he repeated with a smile. "Thank you, Cass."

Jason was family and until everyone else opened their eyes, she was hers to protect alone. To love. Even if only from afar.

* * *

When she heard how Joker had kidnapped him, lured him into a trap, she exploded. She didn't care if she scared everyone.

But even with her sight, she was too caught up and didn't see the conviction in her grandfather's eyes. The pride in her mentor's mechanical voice. The awe in her brothers'. The conflicted relief in her father's.

Joker was nothing. He was less than nothing and she made sure he knew it. She would do what needed to be done.

It didn't make her _less_ to be her brother's protector. To remove the stain of humanity from everyone's lives.

When she found Jason broken again, she kept him close and whispered words she learned just for him. "I love you, little brother. And I will never let anyone hurt you ever again."

* * *

Color wasn't originally involved but this is sight-related so...it was hard to describe without it...

Yes, I am of the idea that Shiva was Jason's mother. She's lied before, she can lie again. And again. But for here, in this story anyway, she was honest. Shiva here is nothing more than a fickle woman when it comes to Jason. She had him randomly. Kept him randomly. Discarded him randomly. The father is no one important. Probably a deserter of the league. Jason, she only kept just because and then handed over to one easily discarded informant. Willis was probably just a contact. A go-between for Two-Face and whoever wanted to do shit in Gotham. Catherine was a lonely woman who tried, who loved though not enough. I don't hate her. I actually like her. Just wished she tried more but you can't have everything.

* * *

EDIT:

Cass and Jason are the same age. Her birthday is in January while his is in August.

Jason was Robin for two~ years starting at age 12 (was probably near 13) and is confirmed to have died at age 14-15. Dick was around 17-18 when Jason became Robin so you can say that there is a 6~ year difference. Tim Drake is now at 16-17 (the poor boy, when will he age? Even Damian aged now!) and is obviously younger than Jason and Dick. If you go by his story of seeing Dick at age 4~ while Dick was 8 that makes Tim only 4 years younger than Dick and somehow older than Jason which isn't right. But! That was pre-crisis. Post-crisis Dick's age changed to 8-12, which makes so much more sense now. Dick would have been already in his early twenties when Tim came into the picture. Moving on, Jason was dead for 6~ months before Tim Drake became Robin at 12-13~ (tho on probation since he still needed training). Point is Jason is roughly around 2~ years older than Tim. With Red Robin, Tim had filed for emancipation making him around 16-17~ at the time. Even with that, Jason's age can still be iffy coz do you count the year (or years depending) he was dead (he _would_ have been 18 as mentioned in Detective Comics #790 (2004)). But roughly, Jason is now around 19~.

Now Cass, she was born January 26. She was 17-18~ when she became one of Oracle's agents in No Man's Land and was discovered by her father (she was 8 when she ran away and it was another 8-9~ before they met again in NML). Her birthday was later confirmed as the 26th in Batgirl #37 (2003) and Cass has been Batgirl for a while at that point making her 18-19~, Tim was age 16 during this period (Robin #116 (2003) -the day the great detective didn't figure out his own surprise birthday party) and so since Jason can't be more than two years older than Tim, then Cass and Jason are roughly the same age and with her birthday being earlier she is, therefore, older by just a few months but still older.

But if you meant Jason is older because he was introduced first to the comic world, then yes. But age-wise, no. If you're going by new 52, please stop. That timeline was crap just so they can make everyone younger (Bruce and Dick and Babs notably)/older (but poor Tim stayed the roughly the same. Even during Rebirth! This boy... :( ).

If you always thought him older because they always draw him as such (beginning with Death in the Family where he suddenly lost his round baby face and got hella taller just to make themselves feel better for killing a 15 year old and then later on for the smoking and killing...), then you have been deceived. This is why I love Dexter Soy for making him still big and buff but also still young. (Westerners _do_ age faster than they look so you can say he _looks_ 20+ but he isn't. I'm frigging nearing 30 and foreigners think me 18-20, without makeup it's lower. wtf). Kenneth Rocafort made him a pretty boy but at least he made him look young like he's supposed to be!

So there you go. Cass is older and will always be older. (It is a thing with siblings, yes? No matter how many the months, if your birthday is at an earlier calendar month on the same year, you are older and can be the big sis/bro all you want to the younger.) End rant. You can't tell me otherwise. Sorry not sorry.


End file.
